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Stormwater Dictionary

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The federal regulations that govern wastewater and stormwater discharges and establish the basic framework for discharge permits and no exposure certifications.

Also known as U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 – Protection of the Environment, Chapter 1 – Environmental Protection Agency, Part 122 – EPA Administered Permit Programs: The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System

A

§122.23 means a lot or facility (other than an aquatic animal production facility) where the following conditions are met:

Animals (other than aquatic animals) have been, are, or will be stabled or confined and fed or maintained for a total of 45 days or more in any 12-month period, and

Crops, vegetation forage growth, or post-harvest residues are not sustained in the normal growing season over any portion of the lot or facility.

Also see Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation

Aquaculture project

§122.25 - Average monthly discharge limitation means the highest allowable average of "daily discharges" over a calendar month, calculated as the sum of all "daily discharges" measured during a calendar month divided by the number of "daily discharges" measured during that month.

Average weekly discharge limitation

The highest allowable average of "daily discharges" over a calendar week, calculated as the sum of all "daily discharges" measured during a calendar week divided by the number of "daily discharges" measured during that week.

B

Organisms that threaten animal and human health in recreational areas and drinking water. Indicator bacteria, such as fecal coliform and Escherichia coli (E. coli), are often measured to identify the presence of fecal matter.

Best management practices ("BMPs")

Schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to prevent or reduce the pollution of "waters of the United States." BMPs also include treatment requirements, operating procedures, and practices to control plant site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or waste disposal, or drainage from raw material storage.

Bypass

Defined at §122.41(m). Bypass generally means the intentional diversion of waste streams from any portion of a treatment facility.

C

Any POTW identified under 40 CFR 403.8(a) as being required to have an approved pretreatment program (including such POTWs located in a State that has elected to assume local program responsibilities pursuant to 40 CFR 403.10(e) and any other treatment works treating domestic sewage classified as a Class I sludge management facility by the Regional Administrator, or, in the case of approved State programs, the Regional Administrator in conjunction with the State Director, because of the potential for its sludge use or disposal practices to adversely affect public health and the environment.

Contamination

Contact between stormwater and any industrial activity resulting in pollution of stormwater.

Concentrated animal feeding operation ("CAFO")

Defined at §122.23.
The Director may designate any animal feeding operation as a concentrated animal feeding operation upon determining that it is a significant contributor of pollution to the waters of the United States.

Concentrated animal feeding operation ("CAFO") means an AFO that is defined as a Large CAFO or as a Medium CAFO by the terms of this paragraph, or that is designated as a CAFO in accordance with paragraph (c) of this section. Two or more AFOs under common ownership are considered to be a single AFO for the purposes of determining the number of animals at an operation, if they adjoin each other or if they use a common area or system for the disposal of wastes.

Concentrated aquatic animal feeding operation is defined at §122.24.
A hatchery, fish farm, or other facility is a concentrated aquatic animal production facility for purposes of §122.24 if it contains, grows, or holds aquatic animals in either of the following categories:

Cold water fish species or other cold water aquatic animals in ponds, raceways, or other similar structures which discharge at least 30 days per year but does not include:

Facilities which produce less than 9,090 harvest weight kilograms (approximately 20,000 pounds) of aquatic animals per year; and

Facilities which feed less than 2,272 kilograms (approximately 5,000 pounds) of food during the calendar month of maximum feeding.

Warm water fish species or other warm water aquatic animals in ponds, raceways, or other similar structures which discharge at least 30 days per year, but does not include:

"Cold water aquatic animals" include, but are not limited to, the Salmonidae family of fish; e.g., trout and salmon.

"Warm water aquatic animals" include, but are not limited to, the Ameiuride, Centrarchidae and Cyprinidae families of fish; e.g., respectively, catfish, sunfish and minnows.

Contiguous zone

The entire zone established by the United States under Article 24 of the Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone, generally including territorial seas up to twelve miles from the coastline.

Continuous discharge

A "discharge" which occurs without interruption throughout the operating hours of the facility, except for infrequent shutdowns for maintenance, process changes, or other similar activities.

CWA

The Clean Water Act (formerly referred to as the Federal Water Pollution Control Act or Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972) Public Law 92–500, as amended by Public Law 95–217, Public Law 95–576, Public Law 96–483 and Public Law 97–117, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.

CWA and regulations

The Clean Water Act (CWA) and applicable regulations promulgated thereunder. In the case of an approved State program, it includes State program requirements.

D

The "discharge of a pollutant" measured during a calendar day or any 24-hour period that reasonably represents the calendar day for purposes of sampling. For pollutants with limitations expressed in units of mass, the "daily discharge" is calculated as the total mass of the pollutant discharged over the day. For pollutants with limitations expressed in other units of measurement, the "daily discharge" is calculated as the average measurement of the pollutant over the day.

Debris

Plastic bags, six-pack rings, bottles, rubble, woody debris (e.g., branches and leaves), etc. that when washed into water bodies can choke, suffocate and disable aquatic life such as ducks, fish, turtles, and birds or block the flow of water and cause localized flooding.

Detention Basin

A stormwater management facility that is designed to protect against flooding and, in some cases, downstream erosion by storing water for a limited period of a time. These basins are also called "dry ponds" or "dry detention basins". In its basic form a detention basin is used to manage water quantity while having a limited effectiveness in protecting water quality.

Detention basins are stormwater best management practices (BMPs) that provide general flood protection and can also control extreme floods such as a 100-year storm. The basins are typically built during the construction of new land development projects including residential subdivisions or shopping centers. The ponds help manage the excess runoff generated by newly-constructed impervious surfaces such as roads, parking lots and rooftops. A basin functions by allowing large flows of water to enter but limits the outflow by having a small opening at the lowest point of the structure. The size of this opening is determined by the capacity of underground and downstream culverts and washes to handle the release of the contained water.

Discharge

When used without qualification means the "discharge of a pollutant."

Discharge of a pollutant

Any addition of any "pollutant" or combination of pollutants to "waters of the United States" from any "point source," or

Any addition of any pollutant or combination of pollutants to the waters of the "contiguous zone" or the ocean from any point source other than a vessel or other floating craft which is being used as a means of transportation.

This definition includes additions of pollutants into waters of the United States from: surface runoff which is collected or channeled by man; discharges through pipes, sewers, or other conveyances owned by a State, municipality, or other person which do not lead to a treatment works; and discharges through pipes, sewers, or other conveyances, leading into privately owned treatment works. This term does not include an addition of pollutants by any "indirect discharger."

Discharge Monitoring Report ("DMR")

The EPA uniform national form, including any subsequent additions, revisions, or modifications for the reporting of self-monitoring results by permittees. DMRs must be used by "approved States" as well as by EPA. EPA will supply DMRs to any approved State upon request. The EPA national forms may be modified to substitute the State Agency name, address, logo, and other similar information, as appropriate, in place of EPA's.

Direct discharge

The "discharge of a pollutant."

Director

The Regional Administrator or the State Director, as the context requires, or an authorized representative. When there is no "approved State program," and there is an EPA administered program, "Director" means the Regional Administrator. When there is an approved State program, "Director" normally means the State Director. In some circumstances, however, EPA retains the authority to take certain actions even when there is an approved State program. (For example, when EPA has issued an NPDES permit prior to the approval of a State program, EPA may retain jurisdiction over that permit after program approval, see §123.1.) In such cases, the term "Director" means the Regional Administrator and not the State Director.

Draft permit

A document prepared under §124.6 indicating the Director's tentative decision to issue or deny, modify, revoke and reissue, terminate, or reissue a "permit." A notice of intent to terminate a permit, and a notice of intent to deny a permit, as discussed in §124.5, are types of "draft permits." A denial of a request for modification, revocation and reissuance, or termination, as discussed in §124.5, is not a "draft permit." A "proposed permit" is not a "draft permit."

E

Any restriction imposed by the Director on quantities, discharge rates, and concentrations of "pollutants" which are "discharged" from "point sources" into "waters of the United States," the waters of the "contiguous zone," or the ocean.

Effluent limitations guidelines

A regulation published by the Administrator under section 304(b) of CWA to adopt or revise "effluent limitations."

Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA")

The United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Excess Algae

Excess algae results from an overproduction of organic matter, or eutrophication. Eutrophication is a condition caused by excessive amounts of nutrients—such as nitrogen and phosphorus—in a waterbody.

F

Any NPDES "point source" or any other facility or activity (including land or appurtenances thereto) that is subject to regulation under the NPDES program.

Federal Indian reservation

All land within the limits of any Indian reservation under the jurisdiction of the United States Government, notwithstanding the issuance of any patent, and including rights-of-way running through the reservation.

G

An NPDES "permit" issued under §122.28 authorizing a category of discharges under the CWA within a geographical area.

Groundwater

The water beneath the earth's surface that flows through soil and rock openings in an aquifer. Groundwater often serves as a primary source of drinking water and seeps into streams providing base flow.

I

All land within the limits of any Indian reservation under the jurisdiction of the United States Government, notwithstanding the issuance of any patent, and, including rights-of-way running through the reservation;

All dependent Indian communities with the borders of the United States whether within the originally or subsequently acquired territory thereof, and whether within or without the limits of a state; and

All Indian allotments, the Indian titles to which have not been extinguished, including rights-of-way running through the same.

Indian Tribe

Any Indian Tribe, band, group, or community recognized by the Secretary of the Interior and exercising governmental authority over a Federal Indian reservation.

A final NPDES permit with supporting documentation showing that effluent limits are consistent with an approved waste load allocation, or other documentation that shows that applicable water quality standards will be met not later than three years after the individual control strategy is established. Individual control strategy is defined at 40 CFR 123.46(c). See 40 CFR 123.46(c) for additional details.

A type of best management practice (BMP) that is used to manage stormwaterrunoff, prevent flooding and downstream erosion, and improve water quality in an adjacent river, stream, lake or bay. It is essentially a shallow artificial pond that is designed to infiltrate stormwater though permeable soils into the groundwateraquifer. Infiltration basins do not discharge to a surface water body under most storm conditions, but are designed with overflow structures (pipes, weirs, etc.) that operate during flood conditions. It is distinguished from a detention basin, sometimes called a dry pond, which is designed to discharge to a downstream water body (although it may incidentally infiltrate some of its volume to groundwater); and from a retention basin, which is designed to include a permanent pool of water.

Interstate agency

An agency of two or more States established by or under an agreement or compact approved by the Congress, or any other agency of two or more States having substantial powers or duties pertaining to the control of pollution as determined and approved by the Administrator under the CWA and regulations.

M

Any NPDES "facility or activity" classified as such by the Regional Administrator, or, in the case of "approved State programs," the Regional Administrator in conjunction with the State Director.

Material handing activities

Include storage, loading and unloading, transportation, or conveyance of any raw material, intermediate product or by-product, final product or waste product.

Maximum daily discharge limitation

The highest allowable "daily discharge."

MS4

municipal separate storm sewer system

MSGP

multi-sector general permit

Municipality

A city, town, borough, county, parish, district, association, or other public body created by or under State law and having jurisdiction over disposal of sewage, industrial wastes, or other wastes, or an Indian tribe or an authorized Indian tribal organization, or a designated and approved management agency under section 208 of CWA.

Municipal separate storm sewer system (Large)

All municipal separate storm sewers that are either:

Located in an incorporated place with a population of 250,000 or more as determined by the 1990 Decennial Census by the Bureau of the Census (Appendix F of this part); or

Located in the counties listed in appendix H, except municipal separate storm sewers that are located in the incorporated places, townships or towns within such counties; or

Owned or operated by a municipality other than those described in paragraph (b)(4) (i) or (ii) of this section and that are designated by the Director as part of the large or medium municipal separate storm sewer system due to the interrelationship between the discharges of the designated storm sewer and the discharges from municipal separate storm sewers described under paragraph (b)(4) (i) or (ii) of this section. In making this determination the Director may consider the following factors:

The location of discharges from the designated municipal separate storm sewer relative to discharges from municipal separate storm sewers described in paragraph (b)(4)(i) of this section;

The quantity and nature of pollutants discharged to waters of the United States;

The nature of the receiving waters; and

Other relevant factors

Municipal separate storm sewer system (Medium)

All municipal separate storm sewers that are either:

Located in an incorporated place with a population of 100,000 or more but less than 250,000, as determined by the 1990 Decennial Census by the Bureau of the Census (Appendix G of this part); or

Located in the counties listed in appendix I, except municipal separate storm sewers that are located in the incorporated places, townships or towns within such counties; or

Owned or operated by a municipality other than those described in paragraph (b)(7) (i) or (ii) of this section and that are designated by the Director as part of the large or medium municipal separate storm sewer system due to the interrelationship between the discharges of the designated storm sewer and the discharges from municipal separate storm sewers described under paragraph (b)(7) (i) or (ii) of this section. In making this determination the Director may consider the following factors:

The location of discharges from the designated municipal separate storm sewer relative to discharges from municipal separate storm sewers described in paragraph (b)(7)(i) of this section;

The quantity and nature of pollutants discharged to waters of the United States;

The nature of the receiving waters; or

Other relevant factors; or

The Director may, upon petition, designate as a medium municipal separate storm sewer system, municipal separate storm sewers located within the boundaries of a region defined by a stormwater management regional authority based on a jurisdictional, watershed, or other appropriate basis that includes one or more of the systems described in paragraphs (b)(7) (i), (ii), (iii) of this section.

N

The national program for issuing, modifying, revoking and reissuing, terminating, monitoring and enforcing permits, and imposing and enforcing pretreatment requirements, under sections 307, 402, 318, and 405 of CWA. The term includes an "approved program."

New discharger

Any building, structure, facility, or installation:

From which there is or may be a "discharge of pollutants;"

That did not commence the "discharge of pollutants" at a particular "site" prior to August 13, 1979;

Which is not a "new source;" and

Which has never received a finally effective NDPES permit for discharges at that "site."

This definition includes an "indirect discharger" which commences discharging into "waters of the United States" after August 13, 1979. It also includes any existing mobile point source (other than an offshore or coastal oil and gas exploratory drilling rig or a coastal oil and gas developmental drilling rig) such as a seafood processing rig, seafood processing vessel, or aggregate plant, that begins discharging at a "site" for which it does not have a permit; and any offshore or coastal mobile oil and gas exploratory drilling rig or coastal mobile oil and gas developmental drilling rig that commences the discharge of pollutants after August 13, 1979, at a "site" under EPA's permitting jurisdiction for which it is not covered by an individual or general permit and which is located in an area determined by the Regional Administrator in the issuance of a final permit to be an area or biological concern. In determining whether an area is an area of biological concern, the Regional Administrator shall consider the factors specified in 40 CFR 125.122(a) (1) through (10).

An offshore or coastal mobile exploratory drilling rig or coastal mobile developmental drilling rig will be considered a "new discharger" only for the duration of its discharge in an area of biological concern.

New source

Any building, structure, facility, or installation from which there is or may be a "discharge of pollutants," the construction of which commenced:

After promulgation of standards of performance under section 306 of CWA which are applicable to such source, or

After proposal of standards of performance in accordance with section 306 of CWA which are applicable to such source, but only if the standards are promulgated in accordance with section 306 within 120 days of their proposal.

No exposure

Means all industrial materials and activities are protected by a storm-resistant shelter to prevent exposure to rain, snow, snowmelt, and/or runoff.

NPDES

National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System

O

P

Based on 40 CFR 122.2, the definition of point source is any discernible, confined, and discrete conveyance, including but not limited to any of the list below, from which pollutants are or may be discharged: Any Pipe, Ditch, Channel, Tunnel, Conduit, Well, Discrete fissure, Container, Rolling stock, Concentrated animal feeding operation, Landfill leachate collection system, Vessel or other floating craft

Permit

An authorization, license, or equivalent control document issued by EPA or an "approved State" to implement the requirements of this part and parts 123 and 124. "Permit" includes an NPDES "general permit" (§122.28). Permit does not include any permit, which has not yet been the subject of final agency action, such as a "draft permit" or a "proposed permit."

Person

An individual, association, partnership, corporation, municipality, State or Federal agency, or an agent or employee thereof.

Point source

Means any discernible, confined, and discrete conveyance, including but not limited to, any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling stock, concentrated animal feeding operation, landfill leachate collection system, vessel or other floating craft from which pollutants are or may be discharged. This term does not include return flows from irrigated agriculture or agricultural stormwater runoff. (See §122.3).

Water, gas, or other material which is injected into a well to facilitate production of oil or gas, or water derived in association with oil and gas production and disposed of in a well, if the well used either to facilitate production or for disposal purposes is approved by authority of the State in which the well is located, and if the State determines that the injection or disposal will not result in the degradation of ground or surface water resources.

Note: Radioactive materials covered by the Atomic Energy Act are those encompassed in its definition of source, byproduct, or special nuclear materials. Examples of materials not covered include radium and accelerator-produced isotopes. See Train v. Colorado Public Interest Research Group, Inc., 426 U.S. 1 (1976).

Any device or system which is (a) used to treat wastes from any facility whose operator is not the operator of the treatment works and (b) not a "POTW."

Process wastewater

Any water that, during manufacturing or processing, comes into direct contact with or results from the production or use of any raw material, intermediate product, finished product, byproduct, or waste product.

Proposed permit

A State NPDES "permit" prepared after the close of the public comment period (and, when applicable, any public hearing and administrative appeals) which is sent to EPA for review before final issuance by the State. A "proposed permit" is not a "draft permit."

Publicly owned treatment works ("POTW")

Defined at §403.3
The term Publicly Owned Treatment Works or POTW means a treatment works as defined by section 212 of the Act, which is owned by a State or municipality (as defined by section 502(4) of the Act). This definition includes any devices and systems used in the storage, treatment, recycling and reclamation of municipal sewage or industrial wastes of a liquid nature. It also includes sewers, pipes and other conveyances only if they convey wastewater to a POTW Treatment Plant. The term also means the municipality as defined in section 502(4) of the Act, which has jurisdiction over the Indirect Discharges to and the discharges from such a treatment works.

It is distinguished from a detention basin, sometimes called a dry pond, which temporarily stores water after a storm, but eventually empties out at a controlled rate to a downstream water body. It also differs from an infiltration basin which is designed to direct stormwater to groundwater through permeable soils.

Wet ponds are frequently used for water quality improvement, groundwater recharge, flood protection, aesthetic improvement or any combination of these. Sometimes they act as a replacement for the natural absorption of a forest or other natural process that was lost when an area is developed. As such, these structures are designed to blend into neighborhoods and viewed as an amenity.

S

A schedule of remedial measures included in a "permit", including an enforceable sequence of interim requirements (for example, actions, operations, or milestone events) leading to compliance with the CWA and regulations.

Secondary industry category

Any industry category which is not a "primary industry category."

Secretary

The Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers.

Sediment

Any particulate matter that can be transported by fluid flow and which eventually is deposited as a layer of solid particles on the bed or bottom of a body of water or other liquid. Sedimentation is the deposition by settling of a suspended material.

Septage

The liquid and solid material pumped from a septic tank, cesspool, or similar domestic sewage treatment system, or a holding tank when the system is cleaned or maintained.

Sewage from vessels

Human body wastes and the wastes from toilets and other receptacles intended to receive or retain body wastes that are discharged from vessels and regulated under section 312 of CWA, except that with respect to commercial vessels on the Great Lakes this term includes graywater. For the purposes of this definition, "graywater" means galley, bath, and shower water.

Sewage Sludge

Any solid, semi-solid, or liquid residue removed during the treatment of municipal waste water or domestic sewage. Sewage sludge includes, but is not limited to, solids removed during primary, secondary, or advanced waste water treatment, scum, septage, portable toilet pumpings, type III marine sanitation device pumpings (33 CFR part 159), and sewage sludge products. Sewage sludge does not include grit or screenings, or ash generated during the incineration of sewage sludge.

However, for purposes of Stormwater regulations this and similar conversion programs are not approved by USEPA. If you have questions about application of the regulations to your business, contact your regional stormwater specialist at Table 1 below.

REGION 10

Defined at §122.27.
Silvicultural point source means any discernible, confined and discrete conveyance related to rock crushing, gravel washing, log sorting, or log storage facilities which are operated in connection with silvicultural activities and from which pollutants are discharged into waters of the United States. The term does not include non-point source silvicultural activities such as nursery operations, site preparation, reforestation and subsequent cultural treatment, thinning, prescribed burning, pest and fire control, harvesting operations, surface drainage, or road construction and maintenance from which there is natural runoff. However, some of these activities (such as stream crossing for roads) may involve point source discharges of dredged or fill material which may require a CWA section 404 permit (See 33 CFR 209.120 and part 233).

Site

The land or water area where any "facility or activity" is physically located or conducted, including adjacent land used in connection with the facility or activity.

Sludge-only facility

Any "treatment works treating domestic sewage" whose methods of sewage sludge use or disposal are subject to regulations promulgated pursuant to section 405(d) of the CWA and is required to obtain a permit under §122.1(b)(2).

Standards for sewage sludge use or disposal

The regulations promulgated pursuant to section 405(d) of the CWA which govern minimum requirements for sludge quality, management practices, and monitoring and reporting applicable to sewage sludge or the use or disposal of sewage sludge by any person.

State

Any of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, or an Indian Tribe as defined in these regulations which meets the requirements of §123.31 of this chapter.

State Director

The chief administrative officer of any State or interstate agency operating an "approved program," or the delegated representative of the State Director. If responsibility is divided among two or more State or interstate agencies, "State Director" means the chief administrative officer of the State or interstate agency authorized to perform the particular procedure or function to which reference is made.

State/EPA Agreement

An agreement between the Regional Administrator and the State which coordinates EPA and State activities, responsibilities and programs including those under the CWA programs.

Storm resistant shelters

Include completely roofed and walled buildings or structures. Structures with a top cover but no side coverings are allowed, provided material under the structure is not subject to any run-on and subsequent run-off of Stormwater.

Storm water

Discharge of rainfall, snow or snowmelt runoff from land and impervious surface areas such as paved streets, parking lots, and building rooftops. Storm water discharge often contains pollutants in quantities that could adversely affect water quality.

The discharge from any conveyance that is used for collecting and conveying stormwater and that is directly related to manufacturing, processing or raw materials storage areas at an industrial plant. The term does not include discharges from facilities or activities excluded from the NPDES program under this part 122. For the categories of industries identified in this section, the term includes, but is not limited to, Stormwater discharges from industrial plant yards; immediate access roads and rail lines used or traveled by carriers of raw materials, manufactured products, waste material, or by-products used or created by the facility; material handling sites; refuse sites; sites used for the application or disposal of process waste waters (as defined at part 401 of this chapter); sites used for the storage and maintenance of material handling equipment; sites used for residual treatment, storage, or disposal; shipping and receiving areas; manufacturing buildings; storage areas (including tank farms) for raw materials, and intermediate and final products; and areas where industrial activity has taken place in the past and significant materials remain and are exposed to stormwater. For the purposes of this paragraph, material handling activities include storage, loading and unloading, transportation, or conveyance of any raw material, intermediate product, final product, by-product or waste product. The term excludes areas located on plant lands separate from the plant's industrial activities, such as office buildings and accompanying parking lots as long as the drainage from the excluded areas is not mixed with Stormwater drained from the above described areas. Industrial facilities (including industrial facilities that are federally, State, or municipally owned or operated that meet the description of the facilities listed in paragraphs (b)(14)(i) through (xi) of this section) include those facilities designated under the provisions of paragraph (a)(1)(v) of this section. The following categories of facilities are considered to be engaging in "industrial activity" for purposes of paragraph (b)(14):

Facilities classified as Standard Industrial Classifications 10 through 14 (mineral industry) including active or inactive mining operations (except for areas of coal mining operations no longer meeting the definition of a reclamation area under 40 CFR 434.11(1) because the performance bond issued to the facility by the appropriate SMCRA authority has been released, or except for areas of non-coal mining operations which have been released from applicable State or Federal reclamation requirements after December 17, 1990) and oil and gas exploration, production, processing, or treatment operations, or transmission facilities that discharge Stormwater contaminated by contact with or that has come into contact with, any overburden, raw material, intermediate products, finished products, byproducts or waste products located on the site of such operations; (inactive mining operations are mining sites that are not being actively mined, but which have an identifiable owner/operator; inactive mining sites do not include sites where mining claims are being maintained prior to disturbances associated with the extraction, beneficiation, or processing of mined materials, nor sites where minimal activities are undertaken for the sole purpose of maintaining a mining claim);

Hazardous waste treatment, storage, or disposal facilities, including those that are operating under interim status or a permit under subtitle C of RCRA;

Landfills, land application sites, and open dumps that receive or have received any industrial wastes (waste that is received from any of the facilities described under this subsection) including those that are subject to regulation under subtitle D of RCRA;

Facilities involved in the recycling of materials, including metal scrapyards, battery reclaimers, salvage yards, and automobile junkyards, including but limited to those classified as Standard Industrial Classification 5015 and 5093;

Transportation facilities classified as Standard Industrial Classifications 40, 41, 42 (except 4221–25), 43, 44, 45, and 5171 which have vehicle maintenance shops, equipment cleaning operations, or airport deicing operations. Only those portions of the facility that are either involved in vehicle maintenance (including vehicle rehabilitation, mechanical repairs, painting, fueling, and lubrication), equipment cleaning operations, airport deicing operations, or which are otherwise identified under paragraphs (b)(14) (i)–(vii) or (ix)–(xi) of this section are associated with industrial activity;

Treatment works treating domestic sewage or any other sewage sludge or wastewater treatment device or system, used in the storage treatment, recycling, and reclamation of municipal or domestic sewage, including land dedicated to the disposal of sewage sludge that are located within the confines of the facility, with a design flow of 1.0 mgd or more, or required to have an approved pretreatment program under 40 CFR part 403. Not included are farm lands, domestic gardens or lands used for sludge management where sludge is beneficially reused and which are not physically located in the confines of the facility, or areas that are in compliance with section 405 of the CWA;

Construction activity including clearing, grading and excavation, except operations that result in the disturbance of less than five acres of total land area. Construction activity also includes the disturbance of less than five acres of total land area that is a part of a larger common plan of development or sale if the larger common plan will ultimately disturb five acres or more;

T

The total dissolved (filterable) solids as determined by use of the method specified in 40 CFR part 136.

Toxic pollutant

Any pollutant listed as toxic under section 307(a)(1) or, in the case of "sludge use or disposal practices," any pollutant identified in regulations implementing section 405(d) of the CWA.

Treatment works treating domestic sewage

A POTW or any other sewage sludge or waste water treatment devices or systems, regardless of ownership (including federal facilities), used in the storage, treatment, recycling, and reclamation of municipal or domestic sewage, including land dedicated for the disposal of sewage sludge. This definition does not include septic tanks or similar devices. For purposes of this definition, "domestic sewage" includes waste and wastewater from humans or household operations that are discharged to or otherwise enter a treatment works. In States where there is no approved State sludge management program under section 405(f) of the CWA, the Regional Administrator may designate any person subject to the standards for sewage sludge use and disposal in 40 CFR part 503 as a "treatment works treating domestic sewage," where he or she finds that there is a potential for adverse effects on public health and the environment from poor sludge quality or poor sludge handling, use or disposal practices, or where he or she finds that such designation is necessary to ensure that such person is in compliance with 40 CFR part 503.

U

Defined at §122.41(n).
An exceptional incident in which there is unintentional and temporary noncompliance with technology based permit effluent limitations because of factors beyond the reasonable control of the permittee. An upset does not include noncompliance to the extent caused by operational error, improperly designed treatment facilities, inadequate treatment facilities, lack of preventive maintenance, or careless or improper operation.

V

Any mechanism or provision under section 301 or 316 of CWA or under 40 CFR part 125, or in the applicable "effluent limitations guidelines" which allows modification to or waiver of the generally applicable effluent limitation requirements or time deadlines of CWA. This includes provisions, which allow the establishment of alternative limitations based on fundamentally different factors or on sections 301(c), 301(g), 301(h), 301(i), or 316(a) of CWA.

W

All waters which are currently used, were used in the past, or may be susceptible to use in interstate or foreign commerce, including all waters which are subject to the ebb and flow of the tide;

All interstate waters, including interstate "wetlands;"

All other waters such as intrastate lakes, rivers, streams (including intermittent streams), mudflats, sandflats, "wetlands," sloughs, prairie potholes, wet meadows, playa lakes, or natural ponds the use, degradation, or destruction of which would affect or could affect interstate or foreign commerce including any such waters:

Which are or could be used by interstate or foreign travelers for recreational or other purposes;

From which fish or shellfish are or could be taken and sold in interstate or foreign commerce; or

Which are used or could be used for industrial purposes by industries in interstate commerce;

All impoundments of waters otherwise defined as waters of the United States under this definition;

Tributaries of waters identified in paragraphs (a) through (d) of this definition;

The territorial sea; and

"Wetlands" adjacent to waters (other than waters that are themselves wetlands) identified in paragraphs (a) through (f) of this definition.

Waste treatment systems, including treatment ponds or lagoons designed to meet the requirements of CWA (other than cooling ponds as defined in 40 CFR 423.11(m) which also meet the criteria of this definition) are not waters of the United States. This exclusion applies only to manmade bodies of water that neither were originally created in waters of the United States (such as disposal area in wetlands) nor resulted from the impoundment of waters of the United States. [See Note 1 of this section.] Waters of the United States do not include prior converted cropland. Notwithstanding the determination of an area's status as prior converted cropland by any other federal agency, for the purposes of the Clean Water Act, the final authority regarding Clean Water Act jurisdiction remains with EPA.

Wetlands

Those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas.

Whole effluent toxicity

The aggregate toxic effect of an effluent measured directly by a toxicity test.